NBA Player News

Vlade Divac butted heads with Joerger, and he’s looking to consolidate his power fresh off inking a four-year extension. In addition to Joerger, Divac has severed ties with assistant GM Brandon Williams and also let go of their long-time director of media relations, Chris Clark. Monty Williams and Ettore Messina are reportedly candidates to replace Joerger, but if Luke Walton becomes available, he’ll be the frontrunner for the Sacramento head coaching gig.

On Thursday, Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said that Wagner was “very close” to returning. Monday could be that day, as he’s listed as questionable on the injury report. The only question is whether he’ll start immediately, likely bumping Anthony Black to the bench, or come off the bench upon being cleared to play. Managers who have rostered Black should not drop him if he’s moved to the bench.

Champagnie has reached double figures in each of his last three appearances. While the playing time, 25 minutes on Sunday, wasn’t the best, he remains in the starting lineup. For that reason, Champagnie is worth the risk for managers seeking players with “silly season standout” potential. The Wizards only play one of their four Week 17 games before the All-Star break, on Wednesday against the Cavaliers, so there won’t be much to be gained from grabbing Champagnie off the waiver wire on Monday.

Sarr struggled with foul trouble in Sunday’s blowout loss, but that didn’t keep him from recording his 12th double-double of the season. The 7-footer still logged 26 minutes against the Heat, an encouraging sign after he played 18 in Thursday’s win over the Pistons. The Wizards will play four games in Week 17, with three scheduled for after the All-Star break.

Coulibaly took a shot to the face from Heat guard Kasparas Jakučionis with 5:36 remaining in the fourth quarter and did not return. The third-year wing finished with seven points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and one three-pointer. Will Riley (nine points, one rebound, one steal, one block and one three-pointer) was limited to 21 minutes, an understandable development since he played 45 on Saturday. If Coulibaly misses time, Riley is the most likely beneficiary.

Jakučionis had the best game of his rookie season on Sunday, recording new highs in points and three-pointers. The 6-foot-6 guard shot 6-of-6 from beyond the arc and made 80 percent of his attempts from the field. Jakučionis’ fantasy value moving forward depends on the availability of Davion Mitchell (5/2/3/1 and one three-pointer in 25 minutes), as his opportunities tend to be limited when “Off Night” is available. With Sunday’s game being a blowout, Jakučionis got to play more during the fourth quarter.

Miami rolled on Sunday, and that factored into Ware getting more playing time than he has recently. However, that should not be used to overlook his performance, which was the other reason why the second-year center logged 30 minutes. The double-double was Ware’s first in over a month, and this is the production level the Heat expects from him consistently. He’ll look to start Week 17 on a high note when the Heat host the Jazz on Monday.

With the Heat rolling to a 132-101 victory, Adebayo only needed to play 28 minutes on Sunday. After going on a run of eight consecutive games with at least 20 points, he entered Sunday having totaled 32 on 9-of-29 shooting in the last two. When you need to get right, it never hurts to run into one of the worst teams in the NBA. Adebayo and the Heat play four games in Week 17, starting with the Jazz on Monday.

Kuzma did not play in Friday’s win over the Pacers due to a sore left calf. Jericho Sims is the player most likely to head to the bench, and that would not have a significant effect on fantasy basketball.

Powell was ruled out at the end of the third quarter due to tightness in his lower back. With the Heat hosting the Jazz on Monday, it’s likely that the team decided to sit Powell since they were up by a significant margin. Powell finished with 21 points, four rebounds, one steal and five three-pointers in 25 minutes.

Murray-Boyles had been playing through a left thumb injury when he aggravated it during the first half of Sunday’s game. His early exit means that the Raptors will rely more on Sandro Mamukelashvili, with Trayce Jackson-Davis providing added depth in his first appearance for the team. Ja’Kobe Walter started the third quarter as the Raptors went without a center.